FICO Credit Scores: What Do They Mean?
Since we live in an automated society, it should come as no surprise that your ability to repay your mortgage boils down to a single number.
The FICO score is compiled by credit reporting agencies. These agencies use the payment history of all of your loans: credit cards, mortgages, car loans etcetera.
Each of the three credit reporting agencies has its own formula for building your credit score. Fair Isaac and Cooriginally developed this score. .
Experian uses this model and calls its score FICO. Equifax's model, based on FICO, is called BEACON, while TransUnion, which also uses a slightly modified FICO, calls its score EMPIRICA. While each of the models considers a range of data available in your credit report, the differences aren't huge; they all use the following to build a score:
- Credit History - Have you had credit for years, or for a short time?
- Late Payments - Have you paid more than 30 days late, and how often?
- Balances on your Credit Cards - How many accounts do you hold? How much do you owe?
- Inquiries on Your Credit - How many times have lenders pulled your credit report for the purpose of lending you money?
These factors are weighted differently depending on which formula the agency uses. The result is one number. FICO scores can be as low as 300 and as high as 800. Higher is always better. Most home buyers these days have a score above 620.
Your FICO score greatly affects how much you pay in interest every month
FICO scores are used for more than just determining whether or not you qualify for a mortgage. Lenders give lower interest rates to individuals with higher scores.
Improving your score
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot you can do to immediately improve your credit score. Some companies promise quick fixes, but they can't do anything different than what you can do — for free. (Of course you must have incorrect items removed from your credit report.)
How do I find out my credit score?
Before you can improve your FICO score, you must obtain your score and make sure that the credit reports from each credit reporting agency are correct. Fair Isaac, the company that invented the original FICO credit score, offers credit scores on myFICO.com. For a reasonable fee, you can quickly get your FICO score from all three reporting agencies, along with your credit report. They also provide information and online tools that help you understand how to improve your FICO score.
You can get a federally-mandated free credit report once a year from the three major agencies by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. You won't get a free credit score from AnnualCreditReport.com, but getting one is fast and inexpensive.
Armed with this info, you'll be a more informed consumer and you'll be better positioned to obtain the right mortgage for you.
Want to know more about your FICO score? Call us: (203) 729-6681.